Rolling off the skiff for the last dive of the week I barely miss three Caribbean Reef Sharks. Startled they quickly scatter and then regroup as they majestically glide to the coral reef ten metres below. As if in a slipstream I descend with them until we reach the reef teaming with tropical fish darting around the healthiest coral in the Caribbean. Bathed in warm water I am overwhelmed by the burst of colour from the fauna and flora around me in a pristine ecosystem little changed since Christopher Columbus first spotted the islands and reefs of Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina (Queen’s Gardens).
Two silky sharks swimming past me.
I began scuba diving in the Caribbean during 1971 and since then 80% of the region’s coral reefs have been severely degraded or have died off due to climate change and human stressors. Stronger hurricanes brought about by climate change can inflict severe damage to coral reefs. More lethal than hurricanes is bleaching. Bleaching, the warming of sea water by a couple of degrees over a prolonged period due to climate change can kill corals since coral is extremely sensitive to variations in water temperature. With increased water temperature corals expel algae which cause them to turn white, which can stress them and lead to death.
If bleaching is the only factor stressing a coral reef the reef has a 70% chance of recovery, but when human stressors are added recovery is extremely difficult. Human stressors in the Caribbean include mass tourism, hotel development, too much scuba diving in popular areas, introduction of evasive marine species, overfishing, removal of coastal mangroves, coastal deforestation, chemical fertilizer runoff and animal waste from farming activities. Fortunately these human stressors are for the most part absent from Cuba’s southern coast and combined with sound public policy that created marine national parks in 1996 the Jardines de la Reina flourish today.
A Nassau Grouper standing firm to defend his hunting territory.
We are part of the fortunate 500 scuba divers who each year get to spend one week on live aboard yachts to explore a small portion of the Jardines de la Reina’s multiple reefs and 250 mangrove islands in an area 175 km by 10 km. These reefs are managed by an Italian company, Avalon. I’m spending a week on Avalon’s yacht La Reina and can’t wait to get in my three dives per day in these pristine waters. In addition to La Reina’s crew of four there are seven guests from Spain, Italy and Canada.
Red mangroves nurture life and filter water on the Jardines de la Reina.
My fellow scuba divers are intelligent, amusing and great travel companions. Javier Sr. and Javi Jr. are father and son; both are dentists from Balboa, Spain. Javier is quite, intense, has a keen knowledge of Spanish naval history and has brought novels along written by Cuban writers. He and I communicate with each other using our limited high school French, with the odd German, English and Spanish words thrown into the conversations. In addition to English and high school French I have a good working knowledge of German. Javi speaks English and has just completed his master’s degree in orthodontics.
Adriano (Adri) and Chiara live on an estate outside of Milan, Italy. Adriano owns a company that paves highways and is a Formula One enthusiast. While Chiara works in hospital risk management and is an equestrian rider. Both are chatty and constantly laugh for the entire week. I’ve never seen such a loving couple. Adri only speaks Italian while Chiara speaks some English and a bit of German. Even with a language barrier Adri and I communicate through hand gestures, we find the same things funny and we both love beer and food.
The two Canadians are fellow Torontonians whom I meet for the first time. Curtis, a financial investor and his wife Christine, is a medical doctor specializing in hematology. As it turns out both Christine and I are of Hungarian heritage and we immediately find common ground talking about how our parents escaped from communist Hungary, ironic since we are in Cuba.
Getting geared up on our floating home “La Reina” with Fausto and Ramon in our dive skiff.
During the six hour sail from Jucaro to the Jardines de la Reina we get to know La Reina’s crew. The yacht’s captain Guillermo (Guilli) is from Italy. Jensy the yacht’s engineer is Latino-Cuban. Through years of hard work Jensy has worked his way up to an engineering position from being a deckhand. He is self taught in English and has a great sense of humour. Joseph, our benevolent Afro-Cuban cook wiped up great meals with a heavy emphasis on fresh fish for lunch and dinner. He engages in intense discussions with Javier over Cuban literature. Ramon, a Latino-Cuban with Asiatic features, is the strong and quiet skiff driver for our forthcoming dives. Fausto is our dive master, with Gustavo (Tavo) a Latino-Cuban who is our secondary dive master.
After our first dinner, Fausto pointed out Franko in the dark distance. Franko is the marsh crocodile who really loves eating plucked chickens tossed to him from a neighbouring boat the Tortuga. He was finicky though with respect to making appearances, and he must have stubbornly sensed how badly we would have loved to photograph him.
Continues in: The Caribbean’s Last Coral Reef Ecosystem – Part 2
Photo Credits
All photos by Joseph Frey – All Rights Reserved
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[…] Continued from: ‘The Caribbean’s Last Coral Reef Ecosystem – Part 1‘ […]